Works with today
Soil sensors
Soil moisture comes from Ecowitt sensors. Every sensor reports through one Ecowitt gateway, so you buy the gateway once.
Stake one in each area. Reads soil moisture every 15 minutes.
Carries the sensors' readings to Garzed. The starter kit's GW1200 is one of Ecowitt's IoT hubs, so it can also run Ecowitt's own valve later. Any Ecowitt gateway that reports to the Ecowitt cloud works.
Smart valves
Rachio sells in the US and Canada. LinkTap sells in the US, Canada, the UK and the EU, and every LinkTap valve has a flow meter, so Garzed records how much water each run delivered and tells you when a valve opened but nothing flowed.
A battery valve on any spigot. Garzed fires it in short pulses when an area calls for water.
Garzed fires individual zones on your existing in-ground system.
A battery valve on any spigot, with a built-in flow meter. Garzed fires it in short pulses and reads the volume delivered.
Two- and four-outlet timers, and the ValveLinker for 24 V in-ground valves, all on the same gateway.
Weather stations
Optional at every level: live rain and temperature, so rain skips and freeze skips read your own garden. Without one, Garzed uses the local forecast.
Pairs to the same Ecowitt gateway as the soil sensors.
The same rain-skip and frost role as an Ecowitt station. Pick which station each area reads.
Not supported: Hunter, Orbit and Rachio's other controllers. Soil moisture currently comes from Ecowitt sensors only. Outside the US and Canada, LinkTap is the valve to buy; Rachio sells only in North America.
What each piece gets you
Nothing is required. Every row below is a complete, working way to use Garzed, and each piece adds a capability rather than unlocking the last one. Only Full Auto needs both.
Common questions
Can I use Garzed without any smart hardware?
Yes. With no hardware, Garzed is your garden's planner and record: areas and plants, crop compatibility, the planting calendar, harvest projections, the journal, and manual watering logs. What hardware adds: a soil sensor gives you live readings and a measured soil capacity per area; a smart valve adds watering you can run from the app.
What if I already have a Rachio sprinkler controller (or Hunter, Orbit, etc.)?
If it's a Rachio 3, you're set: Garzed fires its individual zones based on each area's soil moisture, and zones with similar plantings can share one sensor by following the zone that has it. That's the one sprinkler controller Garzed supports; Hunter, Orbit, and Rachio's other controllers aren't supported.
I already have soil sensors. What does Garzed add?
Garzed learns each area's soil and each plant's dry-down point, so it knows the watering range for that area: whether it needs water, sits comfortably in range, or is at its soil capacity. It keeps adapting from your real soakings and the area's own history, and reads several sensors in one area as a single picture. On Full Auto it then waters each area to match.
Can I use Garzed for just one raised bed?
Yes. Even a single area benefits from moisture monitoring, the calendar, and the bot. You can start with just a sensor (no valve required) and add automation later.
How long does setup take?
If your hardware is already paired in the Ecowitt and Rachio apps, connecting them to Garzed takes about 10–15 minutes: you copy your API keys from each, and Garzed handles the rest. Hardware installation (mounting sensors, plumbing the valve to your hose) is separate and depends on your setup.
Does Garzed work outside the US?
Yes. Setup takes a town name, weather and rain come from a worldwide forecast source at your coordinates, and frost dates are derived from your location's own ten-year history, in both hemispheres. Our first member outside the US runs Full Auto in Québec.